“Pacific Paradise”: A New Front in the U.S.–China Rivalry

The Wall Street Journal writes in a report:

In October, a U.S. research vessel arrived at the Cook Islands in the South Pacific to capture high-resolution images of the seafloor. A few weeks later, a Chinese vessel arrived with the same mission. These islands—often described as a “Pacific paradise”—have become a new arena of competition between Washington and Beijing.

The United States and China are seeking to tap new reserves of rare earth elements, which are essential for manufacturing cars, fighter jets, and other products, as well as strategic minerals needed for batteries and advanced technologies. China currently controls about 90% of the world’s refined rare earth supply, giving it significant leverage over the United States.

Countries in the South Pacific possess vast mineral resources that have largely remained untapped.

For years, energy prospectors have proposed extracting minerals from the ocean floor, much like offshore oil drilling. However, such efforts have made little progress due to high costs and concerns over environmental damage caused by dredging the seabed.

Now, the intensifying U.S.–China rivalry has brought offshore mining back into focus. Locations such as the Cook Islands are increasingly seen as ideal grounds for strategic competition.

Earlier this year, the Cook Islands reached a controversial agreement with China, offering Beijing seabed exploration rights around the islands in exchange for investment in infrastructure and the fishing industry. Although the existence of the deal was made public, some details were initially kept secret, sparking local protests and criticism from regional leaders.

Beijing quickly invited Cook Islands leaders to China to showcase its mining technology and offered training programs and scholarships for Cook Islands students to study there.

Concerned about falling behind China and losing this oceanic paradise, the United States signed an agreement with the Cook Islands in August covering exploration and potential financing for seabed mining.

David Capley, a former U.S. Navy officer and now a senior official overseeing mineral policy in the Trump administration, made a personal visit to Rarotonga, the most populous island in the Cook Islands.

Kelvin Passfield, technical director of Te Ipukarea, a local environmental nonprofit, said:
“These islands have the potential to become a powerful player. But do we have the capacity to play with giants? And do we really understand what we are getting ourselves into?”

A Broader Push

Washington’s outreach to the Cook Islands reflects an increasingly unconventional approach by the Trump administration to securing resources deemed vital to U.S. economic and military security—particularly after China restricted access to rare minerals this year, hurting American businesses.

In July, the Pentagon announced plans to purchase a 15% stake in MP Materials, the largest rare earth miner in the United States, in a multibillion-dollar deal. Two months earlier, Washington pressured Ukraine into signing an agreement granting the U.S. access to Ukrainian minerals in exchange for military support.

Offshore minerals have now become a higher priority. In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to accelerate deep-sea mining, pledging to approve company applications to mine in international waters.

The move raised legal concerns, as deep-sea areas are governed by United Nations treaties rather than national authorities. Nevertheless, a Canadian firm known as The Metals Company has applied for a U.S. permit to mine the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii.

Accessing resources around the Cook Islands is comparatively easier because the metals lie within the islands’ exclusive economic zone, theoretically allowing the government to grant licenses to whomever it chooses—though the industry is so new that many legal questions remain unresolved.

“President Trump has made expanding critical mineral production an unprecedented priority,” said Anna Kelly, deputy White House press secretary.

The Trump administration has also released a list of areas for exploration in U.S. waters, including offshore zones near California, Alaska, and Hawaii, which would not be subject to U.N. regulations.

Some Pacific island nations, including Kiribati and Nauru, have expressed support for offshore mining, while others oppose it, warning that the practice is too risky given the lack of scientific knowledge.

Paradise Island

For the Cook Islands, these developments could be game-changing.

Named after British explorer James Cook, the archipelago consists of 15 islands spread across an area roughly the size of Saudi Arabia.

The economy relies heavily on foreign aid and tourism. Many residents have emigrated to places like New Zealand in search of better opportunities, leaving a population of about 15,000.

Nearly all food—except fish, coconuts, and some root vegetables—is imported. Residents of remote islands may travel for days by boat to receive basic medical care. Alcohol consumption and obesity are widespread.

Thanks to their location near tectonic fault lines, the South Pacific islands are surrounded by vast potential mineral deposits in the form of small nodules scattered across the seabed—resembling black golf balls filled with cobalt, copper, manganese, and rare earth elements.

Cook Islands officials believe revenues from offshore mining could fund better hospitals and schools, doing for the islands what oil did for Norway.

“Protecting the ocean is essential,” said the commissioner overseeing seabed minerals in the Cook Islands. “But the economic benefits of mining would be substantial.”

Power Play

China has long maintained influence in the islands, building a local police station, an elementary school, and an irrigation system in Rarotonga.

In February, Beijing also signed a deal providing about $2.3 million in aid and infrastructure in exchange for cooperation on deep-sea mining research and exploration.

Protests erupted in Rarotonga. New Zealand—the islands’ longtime largest aid provider—suspended assistance, calling for steps to rebuild trust.

Washington, meanwhile, intensified its charm offensive. In September 2023, the United States established diplomatic relations with the Cook Islands as part of a broader initiative launched by then-President Joe Biden to expand U.S. presence in the region and counter China.

As part of the August agreement, Washington sent officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to meet environmental groups. The research vessel EV Nautilus, roughly 220 feet long and equipped with remotely operated vehicles and acoustic mapping systems, then spent 21 days studying the seafloor.

For many residents of Rarotonga, discussions of U.S.–China rivalry and deep-sea mining feel remote and futile. Although seabed mining has not yet been legalized, exploration licenses have been extended.

As some locals put it:
“You talk about great powers. We are just ordinary people. They will control this situation—not us.”/Tasnim